The Luna Park Chalk Art Festival originated in 2008 from an idea submitted to the North 13th Street Luna Park Business District in Downtown San Jose. The idea was to hold a festival in the district’s neighborhood Backesto Park as a way of celebrating its cultural and historical background through the arts. The festival was appropriately named after the historic baseball and amusement park that once brought visitors from all over California to the North 13th Street area for a variety of family festivities in the early 1900s. The festival in some way is a means of reviving and celebrating this historical park’s legacy by once again bringing families from all over California to this beautiful park in San Jose.

In 2012, the management for the festival was transferred from the North 13th Business District Association to a newly formed organization, the Luna Park Arts Foundation, in order for the festival to better serve its mission. The Luna Park Arts Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit. The festival committee is still dedicated to supporting the North 13th Street Business District and many business association members are still a part of the current festival committee.